Special Events

Innovative Competition for Middle School and High School Students
to Develop the Future Workforce

Highlights from 2008 Inaugural Construction Challenge

Building our Future Workforce!

With the high number of Baby Boomer retirements and increasing demands, the construction industry needs to add more than 1,000,000 jobs by 2012!

This industry is actively looking for talented and motivated employees for a wide range of career opportunities – from engineering, project management, and service technicians, to sales, marketing, systems, and graphic designers!

What is Construction Challenge?

The Construction Challenge is an innovative way to engage students to consider the wide variety of careers in this industry.

... 16 Regional Rallies are being held on Sat., Feb. 7, 2009

… Teenagers compete and solve infrastructure, design, and service challenges using teamwork and creative problem solving

... 50 teams advance to the Championship Finals in Knoxville, TN May 19-23, 2009

This educational experience is:

• Electric –Unlike any other event, participants experience the excitement, intensity, and wow-factor of developing their challenge solutions.

• Direct Connect – Teams directly connect to an industry that is actively recruiting talented and motivated employees for a wide range of careers.

• Transforming – The dynamic Rally process raises awareness and changes perceptions of construction and how the industry impacts our quality of life.

• Active – Teams spend 6-8 hours researching infrastructure issues in advance, as well as participating in hands-on challenges at the Rally.

• Credible & Co-Curricular – The Construction Challenge is co-curricular and directly tied to educational standards.

Why participate?

… Students learn about manufacturing design, service tech, and critical infrastructure issues, as well as construction careers

… Teams expand their teamwork, creativity, problem solving, project management, research, and presentation skills

… Students put their engineering, design, and building skills & experience to the ultimate test

… They develop workable solutions to infrastructure and on-the-job issues

… Students pave the pathway for higher education with the potential for scholarship, prizes and internship opportunities

… Construction Challenge looks great on a work or college resume

… Enjoy the adventure and have fun!

Who can participate?

... All team members must be enrolled in middle school (grades 6-8) or high school (grades 9-12) or the equivalent at technical or vocational schools.
... Teams have 5 to 7 members and a supervising adult Team Manager who is at least 21 years old

How do we get started?

... Registration fee is $100 per team. Register at www.contructionchallenge.org

… Teams receive Rally materials after registration and should plan for 6-8 hours of research and prep prior to the February 7 th Regional Rally

... Teams advancing to the Championship Finals in Tennessee are paired with an AEM member company, which pay for the team’s room/board at the Championships. Teams are responsible for their transportation to/from Tennessee.

Construction Challenge Previews

… Presentation: Teams research local/international infrastructure issues, including the relationship between infrastructure and quality of life

… Equipping the Future: Teams design equipment based on criteria and reproducibility in manufacturing

… Tech Simulation: Teams develop and demonstrate a hands-on, task-based solution to a simulated tech problem

Construction Challenge related websites

www.constructionchallenge.org

www.destinationimagination.org

www.aem.org